A well deserved win this evening for the Mighty Monsters! And it's about time. We've been playing well recently but not getting any reward for our play.
Once again we have Paige to thank for her cool finish to the corner, but prior to that Leah, Annabel, Mia, and Marissa all had great chances to open the scoring. And soon after Paige had scored, Nicole forced their keeper into two great reflex saves.
I was really impressed with some of our approach play (passing and movement going toward their goal). Some of it was excellent - the only thing missing was the final shot, where too often we rushed our shot when we had more time to set ourselves for the shot. This isn't always the shooters fault. As team mates we must help the shooter by telling them they have "time" to get their head-up and have a look at where the goalie is (or should I say isn't). And if I was being really picky I might remind forwards that we need to attack the ball when it's delivered into the box from midfield or the wings. I thought our corners were excellent tonight and all we needed was someone prepared to get their body on the ball and blast it into the net!
At our end of the field they rarely got a shot away thanks to some good defensive work, especially from Margaret, Leah, Paige and Marissa. In fact I cant remember a game where our keepers had so little to do. One thing we didn't do enough of was attacking the ball, preferring to wait for it to stop bouncing. This is a bad habit to get into, so try and judge the bounce so that you can get to it before your opponent. And get more physical! We must be the only team who doesn't use our arms and shoulders on opponents when taring to win possession of the ball.
There was no shortage of candidates for Player of the Game. IMHO most of you had your best game so far in Spring league. As a result i don't think it would be fair to name just one player when everyone contributed so much for the win. Good going!
Next game is 6:30pm Monday against White. Three games left - still plenty of time for Nicole, Emma, Margaret, Brooke, and Madeline to get a goal!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
2008-09 Player Assessments
Player assessments for all 1996 and 1997 girls will be held June 9 and 12, 6pm @ Claremont School.
The assessments are held for two reasons. Firstly, they serve to indicate how many girls are intending on playing next season which the allows the club to make decisions on how many teams we will forming at U12 and U13 for 2008-09. Secondly, the assesments are used to determine which girls are invited to Gold team try-outs. This year we expect the try-outs will be held in mid to late August.
As a result it is important for all players to attend at least one session.
For more information on planning for the upcoming season please consult the club website
http://www.cordovabaysoccer.org/
Please note that U12 assessments are also open to any players born in 1998.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Soccer Glossary - Part 1
"Away!" - indicates that you are under pressure and should clear the ball quickly; typically shouted at defenders in and around their penalty-area. As much as possible I want us to pass our way of dangerous areas, but playing against larger and stronger players some times we just need to clear the ball from danger.
"Man On!" - indicates that an opposing player is fast approaching you. It is most commonly used when a player is approaching from behind or beside a player and they cannot see them. "Man On" should be one of the first phrases you learn to use in a game or practice.
"Movement!" - I shout this if I feel our players aren't moving into positions to receive the ball from the ball carrier. Not all movement off the ball results in that player receiving a pass. Instead the movement may help in creating space for the ball carrier to continue in possession. A good example of this are the diagonal or corner runs I ask you to make when the midfield is coming forward with the ball. This movement creates both a passing option and space for the ball carrier.
"Send It" - usually used to urge the player in possession of the ball to pass the ball forward quickly, usually into space behind the defenders or into the path or feet of our forward. Quick movement of the ball is key to attacking space and getting behind defenders. HINT: Remember that the ball moves quicker than any player can run.
"Time!" - tells you that you can settle the ball, compose yourself and get going because there is no immediate pressure from the opponents. Similar phrases include "take your time" or my own personal favourite "buckets" as in "buckets of time". What we hear too often (especially from coaches!) is "you had more time", which indicates that you panicked when you didn't need to.
"Man On!" - indicates that an opposing player is fast approaching you. It is most commonly used when a player is approaching from behind or beside a player and they cannot see them. "Man On" should be one of the first phrases you learn to use in a game or practice.
"Movement!" - I shout this if I feel our players aren't moving into positions to receive the ball from the ball carrier. Not all movement off the ball results in that player receiving a pass. Instead the movement may help in creating space for the ball carrier to continue in possession. A good example of this are the diagonal or corner runs I ask you to make when the midfield is coming forward with the ball. This movement creates both a passing option and space for the ball carrier.
"Send It" - usually used to urge the player in possession of the ball to pass the ball forward quickly, usually into space behind the defenders or into the path or feet of our forward. Quick movement of the ball is key to attacking space and getting behind defenders. HINT: Remember that the ball moves quicker than any player can run.
"Time!" - tells you that you can settle the ball, compose yourself and get going because there is no immediate pressure from the opponents. Similar phrases include "take your time" or my own personal favourite "buckets" as in "buckets of time". What we hear too often (especially from coaches!) is "you had more time", which indicates that you panicked when you didn't need to.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Monsters 0 Black 1
Our game versus Black was definitely a case of deja vu all over again! Once again we played well, had plenty of scoring opportunities and dominated play for long periods of the game, but in the end all we have is a narrow defeat for our efforts.
What let us down was our attacking play in the final third of the field. Outside of Paige's boomer off the upright, I thought our efforts on goal did very little to trouble their keeper. This had been a reoccurring theme in many of our SL games - we're doing the hard work winning the ball and we're getting the ball forward quickly, but our final pass, cross or shot isn't good enough. This is something I'd like us to work on in our remaining games. So when you get an opportunity to shoot pick your spot, get your head down and follow-through with your foot.
Player of the Game was Paige with honourable mentions going to Leah and Mia. Paige was her usual peppy-self, dashing and darting everywhere, and getting some solid efforts on goal, including the one that belted the upright late in the game. An inch or two the other way and it was in. Ugghhhh! Leah was rock-solid as sweeper in the second half, mopping up confidently behind her defenders. And Mia was great in goal, making a couple of key interventions to thwart the Black forwards when they did get into our end.
Next up are Emerald on Wednesday. We welcome back the camping crew (Leanne, Marissa and Brooke), fresh with their bug bites and scarry bedtime stories, but lose Lily and Emma to academy. Let's come-out fired-up and ready to play!
What let us down was our attacking play in the final third of the field. Outside of Paige's boomer off the upright, I thought our efforts on goal did very little to trouble their keeper. This had been a reoccurring theme in many of our SL games - we're doing the hard work winning the ball and we're getting the ball forward quickly, but our final pass, cross or shot isn't good enough. This is something I'd like us to work on in our remaining games. So when you get an opportunity to shoot pick your spot, get your head down and follow-through with your foot.
Player of the Game was Paige with honourable mentions going to Leah and Mia. Paige was her usual peppy-self, dashing and darting everywhere, and getting some solid efforts on goal, including the one that belted the upright late in the game. An inch or two the other way and it was in. Ugghhhh! Leah was rock-solid as sweeper in the second half, mopping up confidently behind her defenders. And Mia was great in goal, making a couple of key interventions to thwart the Black forwards when they did get into our end.
Next up are Emerald on Wednesday. We welcome back the camping crew (Leanne, Marissa and Brooke), fresh with their bug bites and scarry bedtime stories, but lose Lily and Emma to academy. Let's come-out fired-up and ready to play!
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Monsters 3 Maroons 5
We did very well to come back from two goals down to tie the game, but the Maroons scored a pair of scrappy goals in the last five minutes to take the victory. On balance I thought a draw would have been a fairer result but in the end they took more of their chances than we did. Congratulations to Marissa, Annabel and Paige on their goals.
Along with our strong play come lots of candidates for Player of the Game. For me Annabel just shades the Player of the Game. A thirty-yard chip shot over their keeper and defender capped a hard-working performance. Honourable mentions go to Brooke and Lily. Brooke did well at both sweeper and midfield - two very tough positions considering the quality of the opposition. Lily continued her fine play of late, and her through-pass for Paige's goal was excellent.
Our next game is 6:30pm Wednesday vs Black. I have no scouting report on Black, but I expect they'll be another hard-working team full of U13 players.
We'll be short on players as school track, camp and music events means Brooke, Marissa, Leanne , Madeline, Annabel and Emma will be absent. As a result there's a good chance we'll have to recruit one or two players from other teams. Stay tuned!
Along with our strong play come lots of candidates for Player of the Game. For me Annabel just shades the Player of the Game. A thirty-yard chip shot over their keeper and defender capped a hard-working performance. Honourable mentions go to Brooke and Lily. Brooke did well at both sweeper and midfield - two very tough positions considering the quality of the opposition. Lily continued her fine play of late, and her through-pass for Paige's goal was excellent.
Our next game is 6:30pm Wednesday vs Black. I have no scouting report on Black, but I expect they'll be another hard-working team full of U13 players.
We'll be short on players as school track, camp and music events means Brooke, Marissa, Leanne , Madeline, Annabel and Emma will be absent. As a result there's a good chance we'll have to recruit one or two players from other teams. Stay tuned!
Monday, May 12, 2008
2008-09 Registration Open
Registration for the 2008-09 Season is now open. Online registration is available from the following link:
http://www.cordovabaysoccer.org/cbsa_pages/registration.php
Please remember to register early. Not only does it save you $ when you register early, it better allows the club to get a head-start on team formation planning.
Next season promises to be one the most exciting in years with a new Turf Field and other off-field developments. Don't miss it!
Monday Night at The Cage
Well, who needs the NHL playoffs when you've got "sockey" in The Cage? There was as much hitting and tripping on our game tonight as you'll see in just about any hockey game! But that physical play becomes more prominent as you get older, so as long as no one got hurt we can chalk it up to experience.
So in the end we lost 4-3. Ho hum. I'm sure everyone wanted the win or tie, but we have to remember that when playing in the cage it's not always the team who plays best who wins. Sometimes it's the team that's bigger and more aggressive that wins.
So it was tonight. Their game plan was to kick the ball up front as quickly as possible to their forwards and then pressure our defence. As a result most of their goals came from rebounds after they "crashed" our goal. This will work on a small field where the ball never goes out of play, but on a larger field (especially one without a chain-lick fence surrounding) most of their big boots would have been easily dealt with by our defenders or even gone straight-off the field of play. That's why I was really pleased you tried to do all the things we talked about before the game. We did have to rely on some big kicks late on in the game, but for the most part we tried to pass and move. The only thing I could have wished for was a ref who knew what his whistle was for!
Goalscorers were Leanne (1st of the season), Marissa (1st of the season) and Paige (3rd and team leader).
Picking the Player of the Game is tricky because everyone contributed. But if I'm to pick one player I'll go with Marissa. Marissa (I'm told only her bestest friends get to call her "Mar") scored, ran hard, tackled hard and showed some real grit and intensity. She pretty much played every position on the field.
Honourable mentions go to Leanne and Lily. I don't recall seeing a bigger smile on a player's face than Leanne after she scored her goal tonight. Leanne's worked hard every game this year so to see her score her first goal was well worth the wait! Lily had some great 1 v 1 battles with some very aggressive players (what did that blonde-haired girl say to you?). Not surprisingly, Lily didn't back down. All of that extra strength work your doing with Sean and John came in handy tonight didn't it!
Not much of a turnaround time before Thursday's match vs Peninsula Maroons. Rumour has it they're one of the teams to beat so let's make sure we bring the same intensity and desire we had tonight.
So in the end we lost 4-3. Ho hum. I'm sure everyone wanted the win or tie, but we have to remember that when playing in the cage it's not always the team who plays best who wins. Sometimes it's the team that's bigger and more aggressive that wins.
So it was tonight. Their game plan was to kick the ball up front as quickly as possible to their forwards and then pressure our defence. As a result most of their goals came from rebounds after they "crashed" our goal. This will work on a small field where the ball never goes out of play, but on a larger field (especially one without a chain-lick fence surrounding) most of their big boots would have been easily dealt with by our defenders or even gone straight-off the field of play. That's why I was really pleased you tried to do all the things we talked about before the game. We did have to rely on some big kicks late on in the game, but for the most part we tried to pass and move. The only thing I could have wished for was a ref who knew what his whistle was for!
Goalscorers were Leanne (1st of the season), Marissa (1st of the season) and Paige (3rd and team leader).
Picking the Player of the Game is tricky because everyone contributed. But if I'm to pick one player I'll go with Marissa. Marissa (I'm told only her bestest friends get to call her "Mar") scored, ran hard, tackled hard and showed some real grit and intensity. She pretty much played every position on the field.
Honourable mentions go to Leanne and Lily. I don't recall seeing a bigger smile on a player's face than Leanne after she scored her goal tonight. Leanne's worked hard every game this year so to see her score her first goal was well worth the wait! Lily had some great 1 v 1 battles with some very aggressive players (what did that blonde-haired girl say to you?). Not surprisingly, Lily didn't back down. All of that extra strength work your doing with Sean and John came in handy tonight didn't it!
Not much of a turnaround time before Thursday's match vs Peninsula Maroons. Rumour has it they're one of the teams to beat so let's make sure we bring the same intensity and desire we had tonight.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Two Games This Week!
I obviously can't read schedules properly! I've been informed (Thanks Jon) that we have two games this week - one Monday and the other Thursday.
Monday's game is our first game in "The Cage". We play the Silver team who I understand are a U13 team from Gorge. Kick-off is 7:30pm.
For those unfamiliar with "The Cage", soccer in the cage is a combination of indoor soccer and ice hockey - so come prepared to play a fast-paced, all-action game.
Thursday's game is 6:00pm.
Monday's game is our first game in "The Cage". We play the Silver team who I understand are a U13 team from Gorge. Kick-off is 7:30pm.
For those unfamiliar with "The Cage", soccer in the cage is a combination of indoor soccer and ice hockey - so come prepared to play a fast-paced, all-action game.
Thursday's game is 6:00pm.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Monsters 3 Reds 1
Well we made it harder on ourselves than it should have been, but in the end we got the goals to defeat a spirited Reds team. We lacked the zip and intensity from our last game but once we rediscovered that things started to roll for us. Our passing, movement and hunger for the ball was much better in the second half and Mia, Lily and Leah scored to turn-around a 0-1 halftime deficit versus the Reds.
We had chances in the first half, but we either found the side-netting or were stoned by the Reds keeper. Nicole, Marissa and Leah all had good chances but it was the Reds who scored off a nice three-way passing play. The goal itself was a boomer and didn't give Emma much of a chance, but our marking leading up to the goal was very, very slack and we weren't really paying attention to the play. Sometimes it seems we need to be scored on to wake up, and I thought this was the case in this game.
As a team I thought we played the ball the way we were facing (more times than not) and our communication was pretty good. We switched play and our coners (short and long) were good as well. A couple of things we need to work on include moving up and down the field as a unit and our shooting. Too many times our defenders were too far behind our forwards and midfield which means we missed chances to win the ball back and support the attack. As for our shooting, we need to try and hit shots hard and low to the corners.
Player of the Game was Emma for her crunching tackles, great passing and hard work all over the field. Emma also had a great shot saved by the Reds keeper and generally made a nuisance of herself whenever they had the ball. (There you go folks, I can say something positive about my daughter!)
Honourable mentions go to Lily and Nicole.
Lily got her first goal of the season - a booming shot from just outside the penalty area that literally tore the net off the goal! It was such a nice goal Lily says she wants to know if anyone took a video! Well, actually it was a tap in after the goalie fumbled her shot, but I think everyone would agree we're splitting hairs here. Besides, it was the game winner!!
This is Nicole's first year playing soccer and she's making great progress. What I like most is Nicole did a great job of making safe, smart decisions whenever she had possession of the ball. Soccer is a game of making decisions and last night Nicole did that well. In addition, she showed some speed and nifty dribbling skills.
Next week's game is Thursday 6pm on Field K1. Our opponents are the Maroons and they appear to have a fair number of Peninsula U12 Gold girls. This means we'll have to be on our game right from the start.
See you there!
We had chances in the first half, but we either found the side-netting or were stoned by the Reds keeper. Nicole, Marissa and Leah all had good chances but it was the Reds who scored off a nice three-way passing play. The goal itself was a boomer and didn't give Emma much of a chance, but our marking leading up to the goal was very, very slack and we weren't really paying attention to the play. Sometimes it seems we need to be scored on to wake up, and I thought this was the case in this game.
As a team I thought we played the ball the way we were facing (more times than not) and our communication was pretty good. We switched play and our coners (short and long) were good as well. A couple of things we need to work on include moving up and down the field as a unit and our shooting. Too many times our defenders were too far behind our forwards and midfield which means we missed chances to win the ball back and support the attack. As for our shooting, we need to try and hit shots hard and low to the corners.
Player of the Game was Emma for her crunching tackles, great passing and hard work all over the field. Emma also had a great shot saved by the Reds keeper and generally made a nuisance of herself whenever they had the ball. (There you go folks, I can say something positive about my daughter!)
Honourable mentions go to Lily and Nicole.
Lily got her first goal of the season - a booming shot from just outside the penalty area that literally tore the net off the goal! It was such a nice goal Lily says she wants to know if anyone took a video! Well, actually it was a tap in after the goalie fumbled her shot, but I think everyone would agree we're splitting hairs here. Besides, it was the game winner!!
This is Nicole's first year playing soccer and she's making great progress. What I like most is Nicole did a great job of making safe, smart decisions whenever she had possession of the ball. Soccer is a game of making decisions and last night Nicole did that well. In addition, she showed some speed and nifty dribbling skills.
Next week's game is Thursday 6pm on Field K1. Our opponents are the Maroons and they appear to have a fair number of Peninsula U12 Gold girls. This means we'll have to be on our game right from the start.
See you there!
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Monsters 2 Sky Blues 1
We really need to find a name for our Spring league Team. Perhaps something along the lines of CB Forest or Green Monsters. I'll leave that up to you girls.
That was a very good performance last night, full of both great individual and team play. Considering it was only our second game as a team I was chuffed (chuffed adj. slang for delighted).
Our first game versus the Bays Royals was quite chaotic and uninspired, but everything we didn't do in our first game we did last night. I was particularly happy to see everyone adapt to the pace of the game and the size of our opponents. Prior to the game I said that we needed to be quicker to the ball and tougher in the tackle and that's exactly what you did! We looked like a team out there - our passing and movement was good, our positional play was solid, our intensity was excellent and our decision-making was superb.
I think I've run out of adjectives! Now the challenge is to try and keep that up for the rest of our games.
Player of the Game was Paige for her two goals and battling performance against the Sky Blues tall and menacing blonde-haired midfielder. Keep that up Paige and I'm sure you'll make the Island Zone Team for the BC Summer Games! Good luck!
Special mentions for Leah and Shanarra. Leah did very well all game but left her best for her 10 minute goalkeeper cameo in the second half, making some great saves to deny the Sky Blues forwards. Well done. Shanarra was full of fire up until an unfortunate trip injured her knee. Hopefully things are OK and we'll see you on Monday.
A reminder that our game Monday is 5:30pm against Lakehill Reds on Field K1. We should have Lily and Emma back, but Paige will be at recital (boooooo!!!).
The pre-game goalkeeper coin toss will commence at 5:25pm, exactly. Don't be late!
That was a very good performance last night, full of both great individual and team play. Considering it was only our second game as a team I was chuffed (chuffed adj. slang for delighted).
Our first game versus the Bays Royals was quite chaotic and uninspired, but everything we didn't do in our first game we did last night. I was particularly happy to see everyone adapt to the pace of the game and the size of our opponents. Prior to the game I said that we needed to be quicker to the ball and tougher in the tackle and that's exactly what you did! We looked like a team out there - our passing and movement was good, our positional play was solid, our intensity was excellent and our decision-making was superb.
I think I've run out of adjectives! Now the challenge is to try and keep that up for the rest of our games.
Player of the Game was Paige for her two goals and battling performance against the Sky Blues tall and menacing blonde-haired midfielder. Keep that up Paige and I'm sure you'll make the Island Zone Team for the BC Summer Games! Good luck!
Special mentions for Leah and Shanarra. Leah did very well all game but left her best for her 10 minute goalkeeper cameo in the second half, making some great saves to deny the Sky Blues forwards. Well done. Shanarra was full of fire up until an unfortunate trip injured her knee. Hopefully things are OK and we'll see you on Monday.
A reminder that our game Monday is 5:30pm against Lakehill Reds on Field K1. We should have Lily and Emma back, but Paige will be at recital (boooooo!!!).
The pre-game goalkeeper coin toss will commence at 5:25pm, exactly. Don't be late!
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